Decimo's Girl
by Nefarious Transcriber
Summary: And yet, as Haru looked at his prone form, she found she couldn't leave him out here. Sure, he was an unconscious man cover in blood that was not his. And, yes, she had seen him kill to people and she was sure he must belong to a gang of some sort. But that's not how you repay someone who saved your life. AU.
1. Prologue: The Logical Thing

**Prologue: The Logical Thing**

 **…**

The logical thing to do when you see someone kill two people, who probably deserved it as they were trying to kill you, and then pass out is to runaway screaming. So what if this person saved you? How do you know this wasn't just a ragging psychopath, with thirst for blood, and that he was just shooting indiscriminately at people, and that, if he hadn't passed out, you'd be dead too? That just it, you don't. That's why the logical thing to do is to runaway. I mean he has a gun, and, if the two dead thugs are any indication, he knows how to use it. And yet, as Haru looked at his prone form, she found she couldn't leave him out here. Sure, he was an unconscious man cover in blood that was not his. And, yes, she had seen him kill to people and she was sure he must belong to a gang of some sort. But that's not how you repay someone who saved your life.

 **…**

 **A/N: what do you all think? If anyone likes this I'll continue it.**


	2. 1: A Question of Sanity

**A/N:** **Cielo-Caelum: Thanks for the lollipops. And, yes, the others will show up, eventually.**

 **The rest of you: thanks for the reviews. Also, if you got questions, ask and I will try to answer.**

 **…**

It was only until Haru had made it to her apartment that she realized the insanity of what she had done. Firstly. She had just let a possible criminal into her home. Secondly, she might have just accidentally had become an accessory in the murder of two people; sure they were criminals, but that was beside the point. Lastly, she had no idea what she was going to do when this man woke up.

Haru sighed as she looked at the man lying on her floor- there was no way she was putting him on any cushiony surface; blood is hard to clean out of things. Haru eyed the man warily one more time before leaving him to go clean the blood that had gotten on her when she was carrying him. She hurried over to her room, hoping the guy wouldn't wake up while she was gone.

 **…**

Tsuna blinked in confusion as he eyed the room he woke up in. He sat up with a jolt, this wasn't where he had passed out. Had the woman he had saved called the cops? But then, it was rather obvious this wasn't a jail. Maybe she had run away screaming and whatever Famiglia those thugs, who had been harassing that poor girl, belonged to had found him?

Again this didn't look much like the prison cell. Also he was pretty sure, if they had found him, they would taken more than his gun; they would know he was more than capable of taken them down without it. Actually, now that he thought about it, they would have killed him on the spot- He was the Vongola Decimo after all. One could only imagine the prestige they would get out of killing him.

So that must mean, someone must taken him into their home, and, whoever had taken him here, saw fit to put him on their living room floor. Tsuna couldn't blame them; cleaning blood off of upholstery was a pain. He stood up and began surveyed the room more thoroughly.

There was a small fluffy looking white couch two feet away from him, a small coffee table, and a small flat screen T.V. Barring that the room was mostly bare, there were no picture frames or any other kind of furniture. Tsuna had a feeling that whoever leaved here was poor, if the ugly, pealing, puce color walls and cracked floor tiles were any indication.

He would have continued his survey of the small space, if hadn't been for the rapid foot falls that were gradually getting louder as the person running over got closer to the living room. Tsuna sighed and began mentally preparing himself for the person's reaction to his now conscious presence. As soon as the foot falls stopped, he heard a gasp. Then, an ear-piercing panicky scream rang out.

Tuna winched and, after a few tense seconds, turned to face the screamer.

Before he could even get a good look at the person in front of him, she bowed her head and, in a trembling panic filled voice, said:

"Pleased don't kill me!"

Tsuna stared at her blankly before he rolled his eyes at what he perceived as ridiculous. "I'm not going to kill you."

Haru lifted her face to face him, her eyes wide, "Really?! Thank you! Haru is very grateful for both sparing and saving her, Sir."

Tsuna blinked in confusion at the girl's odd speech pattern, before it dawned on him. She was alternating between third and first person. Tsuna smiled slightly, it was kind of cute.

Deciding that the girl was no threat, as his Hyper Intuition would have warned him, Tsuna ginned. "Well, thanks for not leaving me on the street."

She blinked in confusing before finally allowing her self to relax, "No problem. Umm, err, would you like your, umm, gun back?"

' _One second she thinks I'm going to kill her and now she asking if I want my gun back. Such an odd girl.'_ Tsuna thought as he nodded in reply.

She rushed off for a moment then came back and handed it to him.

"Would you like to clean off too? I don't think you can go down the street covered in, you know, blood."

Tsuna nodded again.

"Bathroom is down the hall." Haru pointed at her left. " First door to the right. I don't have any clean cloths for you change into though,"

"That's fine. I deal with it... Thank you, Miss…"

"Miura Haru."

"Sawada Tsunayoshi."

"Tsunayoshi, like the fifth shogun of the Tokugawa Dynasty?"

"Yeah, it's a tradition I guess. My dad was named Iemitsu."

"That's so cool!" Haru smiled, before changing the topic all together. "How your head? Do you have a headache? Or do you feel dizzy?"

Tsuna, thrown off by her rapid change in topic, took a few moments to answer. "Somewhat, but I think I good."

"Do you have any other injuries?" Haru asked.

Tsuna nodded, "Just a few bruises, but outside of that I'm fine."

"Alright then. I'll let you go clean up."

"Thank you again, Miura-san."

"No problem." Haru replied as she turned away.

Tsuna smiled as soon as the girl left the room and began to make his way towards the bathroom. He had never met a person like Haru before. What a, for lack of better word, weird girl.

' _But in a good way,'_ Tsuna added, as he entered the bathroom, _'she's weird in a good way.'_

 **…**

Tsuna ended up staying at Haru's apartment for four hours. He had wanted to stay longer- Haru proved to be an excellent hostess and conversationalist. It also helped that she was probably the prettiest girl

Tsuna had ever seen, but he had to get home before Gokudera had a heart attack. Also, he was sure that the less-than-stellar way he had met her had ruined whatever chance he had of having more than a passing acquaintanceship the girl. It was a shame really, but he doubted he'd see Haru again. They hadn't even exchanged contact information- Tsuna had wanted to, but was scared of looking stupid in front of her.

It was a ridiculous fear, considering he had killed two people and been covered in blood in front of her, yet she still was willing to: clean his cloths, feed him, and let him use her shower to clean up. Now here he was walking away from her apartment, towards the nearest landmark, so he could call his subordinates to pick him up. Instead of doing the logical thing and asking the really cute girl for her number.

He really wished he had asked for her number.

A sudden cry of, "Sawada-san, Wait!" stopped Tsuna brooding session short.

He turned around, to see none other than Haru running over to him. Tsuna stopped walking, waiting for the girl to reach him, and, once she had, for her to catch her breath.

"Sawada-san," Haru began, "It has occurred to me that I was about to let you, my new friend leave without giving him a way to contact me."

"Friends?" He couldn't resist messing the girl; he had found, in the few hours he had known her, that she looked especially cute when she blushed.

Just as Tsuna had expected her to, Haru blushed, "Well, you saved my life and I took you to my house instead of leaving you there on the ground, that makes us friends right?"

Tsuna nodded thoughtfully, "Yeah, I guess it does."

"Good. But, umm, Sawada-"

Tsuna cut her off, "Call me Tsuna all of my friends do."

"Okay. But, Tsuna-san, I'd prefer it if you weren't covered in blood next time I run into you." Haru quickly amended that statement, "But you know, if you are, I won't turn you away or anything -"

Tsuna interrupted her, decided to save her from further awkwardness, "I'll try not to be."

Haru grinned slightly, "That's all I'm ask for."

 **…**

Later, Haru would be found leaned against her kitchen counter, wondering if she was going insane. Only to come to the realization that she had never been sane in the first place.

 **…**

 **A/N: Tell me what you think.**


	3. 2: Underpaid Waitresses

**A/N: A Thanks to all of you who have left reviews and for the fictional the cupcakes and other goods. I'm flattered you guys like this story. Without further ado here is the next long chapter.**

 **...**

Sasagawa Kyoko was not in a good mood today. She hadn't been for a while, but the young woman hid it well. It wouldn't do her any good if anyone found out about her being upset.

Her reason would appear to be trivial to some, but the thing that had her up in the dumps was that Sawada Tsunayoshi had been acting odd for the last two months.

He would often disappear for hours, refusing to tell anyone where he went. He would spend a lot of time on the phone, who he was talking to was anyone's guess. There were times he could be seen looking out the window or staring off into the distance, eyes unfocused and clouded by thought.

Kyoko didn't like it; Tsuna was hardly paying her any mind these days. His world use to revolve around her and now it seemed like he had found a new person to orbit around. Kyoko hoped, no she knew, that if this new person wouldn't last long, especially if it was a girl. Tsuna had liked her first and he'd come running back to her and this girl- if it was a girl, like everyone was starting to suspect- would be a footnote, nothing more.

Nonetheless, Kyoko wished that Tsuna would go back to normal already, she was never a patient person. She hated how it was affecting her. She needed to get away from everyone involved with the Vongola, which was why she had driven to a well-reviewed Café, out of Vongola protected Namimori. She needed time to think and as Kyoko slammed the door of her brand new convertible, and looked at the brightly painted sign that identified a quaint building as Hanasaki Café, she decided this was the perfect place.

 **…**

Haru worked in small café as a waitress along with her best friend Hanasaki Namiko. Namiko's grandmother owned the place, and Namiko had been the one who helped Haru get the job- something the brunette would be eternally grateful for.

Today, like most days, Haru was served the patrons and Namiko was in kitchen preparing the coffee, cakes, and tea. Today was a slow day, and for the past hour there had been no customer to attend to so Haru was lounging on one the chairs reading a magazine when the doorbell jingled.

Haru looked up to see a young woman that looked like a model with her impeccable designer clothes, honey-colored eyes, and gold-brown hair. As woman took a seat at one of the tables at the edge of the shop and began staring at the window, Haru stood up, plastered a cheery smile on her face, and walked over to her.

"Welcome, to Hanasaki Café! I'm Miura Haru and I will be your server today. What would you like, miss?"

"Green tea." The honey-eyed girl replied, her eyes never straying from the window.

Haru felt a small surge of annoyance and quickly stamped it down, but her smile lost some of its' sincerity and her tone became significantly less cheery than it had been moments before, "Got it, I'll be back in a minute with your order.

The smile disappeared entirely as Haru whirled around and hurried into the kitchen.

 **…**

Kyoko's tea, though now cold, was still delicious. It had been hours since she had first arrived and outside of talking to the waitress she had mostly just sat there, lost in thought, and occasionally taking sips from her cup.

Sighing heavily as she checked the time her phone, Kyoko finished off the last of the tea, paid for her drink, and left a very small tip for a waitress, whose name she had forgotten and face she hadn't turned to look at.

As soon as Kyoto left, a very offended brunette sighed in relief.

"Thank goodness." Haru collected the money on the table, "I thought she'd never leave. Didn't anyone ever tell her to respect the person who was serving her. I mean she didn't even say more than two words to me."

"She left a tip." Haru's blonde haired coworker pointed out.

"Yes, I'm grateful for that, even if it's small, but she could have at least acknowledged my presence. I'm a person not an robot. I don't appreciate such cold behavior, especially because I had tried to be friendly and welcoming.

"She seemed distracted."

"So? It only would have taken seconds for her to at least glance at my direction."

Namiko couldn't find a way to defend against that statement and sighed, "Okay you win."

Haru shook her head, "It's not about winning. It's about having proper manners and returning the hospitality I had given her."

Before either could say more the door jingled, announcing the entrance of another customer. This one was male and dressed in a finely tailored suit. Normally, Namiko would have taken the next customer as Haru was obviously in no mood to serve anyone at the moment, but, as a rule, Namiko did not serve men.

"Umm, Haru, I hate to ask this off you but," Namiko gestured the man that had taken a seat at table seven and was out right staring at the two waitresses impatiently.

Haru sighed, "Okay, I got it.

 **…**

Namiko struggled to keep the guilt from over taking her as she watched as the man jeered, leered and sneered at her best and only friend. _It's a miracle Haru hadn't lost patience yet_ , Namiko thought as she watched the drama enfolding in front of. The man was saying something and Haru was getting angrier the longer he spoke. By the time he finished. Haru had lost it.

"Shut. Up." She enunciated each word clearly, her tone full of animosity and her eyes blazing with stifled fury. "Do not ever _, ever,_ say _that_ again. Iam _not_ paid enough to deal with this kind of bullshit. So here is how it's going to go. You are going to pay for your food, leave a substantial tip, walk out the door, and never come back for as long as I work here."

Namiko watched as her friend's scowl transformed into a sickeningly fake smile, full of false cheer and malice. She bit her lip worriedly and played with her blond hair nervously. Haru had only ever been this angry once before.

"Or else you'll find yourself missing one of your favorite external organs that happens to be necessary in reproduction."

Namiko winched, she knew exactly what Haru was threatening, and the brunet would certainly go through with it. _Haru's never threatened to castrate a man before. What did he say?_

The man opened his mouth ready let lose a scathing retort when Haru cut him off.

"And, if you're to stupid to understand what I'm insinuating then you deserve to lose it." Haru eyes flashed dangerously, "When I count to three you better be out the door and there better be a five dollars tip on the table."

"You-" The man began.

"One."

Cursing underneath his breath the man Haru had been serving pulled out his wallet and did exactly as she asked, after hesitating for a bit to place to tip, but did so hurriedly as soon as Haru said two. By three, the man was out the door.

"Good riddance." Haru announced, collapsing onto the recently vacated seat. "I have never met such a- a pompous and downright unpleasant person in my life."

"What did he say?" Namiko eyed her best and only friend warily; "It takes a lot to get you angry, and the last time you got like that was four years ago."

Haru stayed silent, her expression dark.

"Haru-chan?"

"Nothing, nothing at all."

Though it was obvious to Namiko, who had know Haru since grade school, that that was a lie. "Want me to beat him up?"

Haru seemed to calm slightly at that and snorted, "As if you would or could."

"Ah. Well." Namiko flushed sheepishly, not bothering to deny Haru's statement and started to. "I'll take the next customer."

 _Unless it's a man_ , Haru thought. _Then I'm on my own._

Namiko knowing what her friend was thinking, knowing it was true and not for the neither first nor last time felt guilt that her fears inconvenienced the brunette so much, apologized as she to retreat the kitchen.

"Mind reader." Haru teased slightly, hoping to lighten the mood. "Bloody mind reading best friends that know too much and ought to be silenced."

"Please don't kill me." Namiko added, her soft voice full of humor, from the kitchen

"With amazing hearing as well apparently." Haru noted as started to clean up the mess the last customer left.

"And don't you forget it," The blonde waitress added, "Want some Coffee and Cake?"

"Yes please."

"Coming right up."

 **…**

Namiko turned to her fellow waitress, once she finished locking the shop up. "That man, who you got mad at, he mentioned your mother didn't he?"

Haru didn't say anything but her silence was enough. Namiko looked at her best friend worriedly, all the while wondering just who that man was. Very few people knew about Miura Haruka after all.

 **…**


	4. 3: a Compliment & Unromantic Confession

**A/N: : Kyoko and Haru as rivals? Well, that actually sounds like fun. I've found I really like writing Jealous/Envious Kyoko. Jealousy and Envy are complex emotions and it's fascinating to play with them.**

 **To the rest of you, who have followed/reviewed/favorited this story: Thank you. And for the lurkers, who read and like this story, but do none of the above: Thank you as well. Now, without further ado, I present to you : Chapter 3. Hope you like it.**

 **...**

The café closed early, but unfortunately the bus wasn't scheduled to come for another good thirty minutes, and, to Haru, it seemed like time was mocking her. Every second was an eternity, and time trickled by like in dying river.

She checked her watch for billion the time; only to see that barely a minute had passed since she last checked, even though it had seemed like hours had gone by. Haru sighed in frustration, there's only so long a person can stand staring at the road without going mad, and began tapping her heels against the side walk.

Then, after standing there for over ten minutes having literally nothing exciting or interesting to entertain herself with, as if the universe had decided it had had enough of torturing her a sleek gleaming black luxury car passed by; and, as she watched it go, Haru felt a surge of longing- if only she could afford a car, even if it was a hunk of junk, as long as she had one it wouldn't matter.

Haru turned away from the automobile and bowed her head bowed. Her mind was in turmoil so she ought to be forgiven for not seeing the car turn around, drive back, only to stop in front of her or see the passenger window roll down.

In fact, it wasn't until the amused driver called out a her name that Haru finally snapped out of her depressing thoughts.

Her head snapped upwards, shock registering on her face, "Tsuna-san?!"

"Hello, good to see you have returned to earth."

Haru blushed sheepishly, "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it. Anyway "Tsuna flashed her a reassuring smile then gestured to the bus stop sign, "Need a ride?"

"Yeah"

"Get in then."

Haru smiled, "You, Sawada Tsunayoshi, are a saint."

 **…**

Tsuna smiled softly as he looked at the nineteen-year-old brunette that was dragging him into a sweets shop, her face alight with the enthusiasm of a zealot. Idly he wondered how driving her home turned into to taking her to get sweets. Tsuna watched as Haru placed her order, saying nothing, until the girl reached for her wallet.

"I got it." Tsuna handed the cashier the money before Haru could even figure out what he meant.

It wasn't until he had led to their seats that Haru finally got over her shock and confusion

"Tsuna, why did you pay for my sweets? You don't need too, I can afford it."

Recalling the state of her apartment, Tsuna was inclined to disagree. Nonetheless, he was not going to tell her that, he was not an idiot. Haru was obviously a proud woman and would get upset if he did. Though, Tsuna would admit, a part of him was pleased to see Haru was not interested in his money, but rather in him, as a person-not as a walking ATM machine, to get money from whenever she wanted or need to.

"I know, but it's not often I get to spoil such a gorgeous and amazing woman like yourself."

Haru faced her face flush. "T-Tsuna-san. I-I umm… er…"

Tsuna lips tilted upwards causing Haru break out of her sputter, then duck her head in embarrassment. Silence, but not the uncomfortable kind, fell between them with Haru fidgeting bashfully and Tsuna smirking.

"W-What taking them so long to bring the sweets?" Haru asked, eager to restart the conversation, after several minutes of silence.

Tsuna eyes shined with amusement and he gave her a knowing smile before replying, "They probably think we're on a date and want to give us a while to talk."

"What?!" Haru's eyes-widened, her face rapidly turning red once again.

"Think about it."

A few moments of silence followed that statement, then Haru groaned, slumping in her seat, "That's so embarrassing."

Tsuna pouted, " So your ashamed of me? It's because I'm ugly, isn't it?"

"No!" Haru isn't ashamed of Tsuna-san. Tsuna-san isn't ugly." Haru face flushed a few shades darker, "Tsuna-san is very handsome."

Tsuna eyed her blankly for a moment before he grinned like someone who had just won some the lottery and Haru eyes widened as she realized something.

Haru glowered, "You were just fishing for complements weren't you."

"I was doing no such thing."

"Lies."

Tsuna looked at her with mock hurt, "Have you no faith in me?"

"None."

Tsuna pouted, and, as she watched the boy pretend to sulk, Haru had to admit he was a pretty convincing actor, but his eyes gave him away and they were glimmering with humor.

 **…**

He hadn't been this content in a long time.

Tsuna was having trouble keeping the smile off his face as he walked into his home. Stepping over the threshold and entering the living room the sight before him was almost exactly what he had expected.

Gokudera was pacing the floor muttering frantically underneath his breath, Yamamoto was trying to calm him. Likewise Ryohei was trying to calm down a worried Kyoko. Thankfully, his mist and cloud guardians were nowhere to be found; he didn't think he could handle dealing with either of the pineapple heads or getting bitten to death at the moment. Reborn, the only one to have noticed him, was examining him from head to toe, cataloging everything he saw in and on Tsuna that would give away what he had been doing and where he had gone.

"Dame-Tsuna." Reborn greeted.

Tsuna scowled at the old nickname, it never bode well for him when the hitman said it, and the others immediately jumped to attention turning towards their boss and friend.

"Jūdaime! You're alright!" Gokudera announced his relief evident on his face.

"Tsuna-kun!" Kyoko leaped off the couch and rushed over to Tsuna, and threw her arms around him.

"Ah, Tsuna, your back." Yamamoto sighed, "Thank goodness, Gokudera and Kyoko were worried."

"I noticed." Tsuna gestured to the two in question, "It's kind of hard not to."

"Ha-ha, well, you've been acting weird lately." Yamamoto took a seat on the couch, "Could you at least tell us why?

"I made a new friend." Tsuna replied as he quickly extracted himself from Kyoko's hold, much to girl's disbelief and distress.

"I see. Would this person happen to be a girl?" Reborn cut in.

Tsuna sighed, "Does it matter?"

"Yes."

"I don't see why, but yes this person is a girl. What of it?"

Reborn opened his mouth to speak but Tsuna cut him off, "Before you ask, she is not affiliated with any Mafia Famiglia nor does she know that I'm Vongola Decimo and I'd prefer it stayed that way."

Reborn said nothing to that and watched as Tsuna gave them all a look that clearly stated he wanted to be left alone, that he would out right refuse anymore questions before the brunette retired to his room, leaving his guardians and a certain honey eyed girl in shock.

All the while the ex-Arcobaleno could only think one thing: _This idiot doesn't even realize how completely_ _infatuated he is with this girl_.

Tsuna was a good actor, Reborn would give him that; the boy had, after all, managed to fool everyone else. But he couldn't hid it from Reborn, the look on Tsuna's face when he first came in, was something Reborn was exceedingly familiar with- how could he not be? The hitman had seen it on the faces of others an innumerable amount of times.

 **…**

Haru was deliriously happy, she wondered how just being in Tsuna presence could make her like that, make her feel so free, so safe.

There was just something about his just told her it was okay to let her guard down, to relax and be herself around him. He had a kind of magnetism that just drew her in and it was incredible _._ Had one tried to to get Haru's attention, they wouldn't have been able to for she was lost in a daydream- that may or may not have involved Tsuna. It should be noted that there was a hundred percent chance it did.

 **…**


	5. 4: The Vongola's Green Eyed Monster

**A/N:** **: This soon enough?**

 **Summer-123: Thanks, I do my best.**

 **Okita. Kagura: Well it is Reborn's business to know everything, and anything realted to his Student, because Tsuna will always be his student. The job of a teacher is never finished, until the student surpasses him and Tsuna has a long way to go.**

 **Rane Kurodo: Thank You.**

A **thanks to the rest of you that read, favorite and follow this story.**

 **...**

Kyoko heels tapped impatiently against the granite floors, while Tsuna, ear pressed to the phone, raptly listened to the person on the other end. Kyoko tried and failed to calm herself. Tsuna hadn't even noticed her presence in the room. And, whomever Tsuna was talking to was getting more attention than she had gotten from him in two weeks.

To think his world use to revolve around her and now, he rarely even looked her way. And his confession a few weeks ago only made it worse. The honey eyed young woman had not been pleased to hear he had been spending time with another far as Kyoko was concerned Tsuna was hers, and this new female friend of Tsuna's had no right to try and take her, Kyoko's, place in said brunet's life. She had known him the longest. Known him first. Liked him first. Kyoko turned her attention back to the distracted Mafia boss.

"You said I was handsome, did you change your mind?" Tsuna's voice was low and silky, and it sent shivers down Kyoko's spine.

However, once she recalled that it wasn't for her, the familiar feeling of envy crawled it way back up.

How dare this interloper, who Kyoko imagined: was a silicone bottle blond, with a painted on face, try to take Tsuna from her. This girl, who probably looked exactly like Kyoto imagined, was take up all of Tsuna's time.

 _He had like her first damn it._

Kyoko swore to make sure this other woman won't last long, make sure this girl will end up just footnote. So enthralled by her daydreams of getting rid of Haru, that she failed to notice Tsuna leave the room. But such behavior is customary when possessed by the green-eyed monster.

 **…**

Haru was sure her face couldn't get any redder as she tried and failed to come up with a witty retort, so she defaulted to the usually reply people gave when losing an argument: "Shut up."

The person on the other end snickered, and then proceed to all out laugh at her. "How does it feel to eat your words?"

"I said shut up, you idiot."

"Hey I'm no idiot!" His tone was full of mock hurt and laughter.

Haru scowled, "You are too, idiot."

"You sound like a child."

Haru's face turned a shade darker, disproving her earlier hypothesis, as it seemed her face could get redder, "Says the idiot."

"Twice in a row what did I do to deserve this?"

"Exist."

"You are a cruel woman, you know that."

"Why thank you, Tsuna-san, I shall take that as a complement."

There was a moment of silence as both realized the ridiculousness of their conversation, before falling in a fit of laughter. Once they composed themselves, Tsuna broke the silence.

"Hey, want to watch a movie today? None of my friends can come, and I don't want to go alone."

"What am I a last resort?"

"Pretty much."

"Well because you asked so nicely," Haru began with sarcasm, but ended with sincerity, "Sure."

"Great, I'll pick up in let say an hour? Work for you?"

"Yeah."

"Right, see you in a bit, Haru."

"Okay, bye Tsuna-san."

 **…**

This was technically a date and Tsuna wanted to kick himself for not realizing it earlier. He hadn't even noticed until a little while after he asked, and felt stupid, but thankfully it seemed that it hadn't occurred to her either, and hopefully it wouldn't- he didn't want to scare her off.

He really liked the brunette; she was fascinating. He had never met someone so accepting, kind, and beautiful. Her smile were brighter than the sun, and she gave it so freely, something not a lot of people did these days. It was also refreshing to around someone who didn't work for him, or knew what he did for a living. He wanted to get to know her more, be around her more, that's why he had invited Haru to the movies.

 _(Even though he didn't care too much for cinema and had literally no idea what was currently airing in theaters- and still wouldn't know if it wasn't for a wonderful thing called the Internet.)_

As for his friends, well as their boss, he was the reason they were busy. It had been a rather simple matter of rearranging their schedules so they would be busy and all out at the same time. Tsuna felt some guilt about it, but he knew it was for the best. Keeping them busy was the only thing Tsuna could come up with to keep any of them from getting the brilliant, note the sarcasm, idea to tag along. It would was a surefire way to ruin his entire evening with the girl, so he had to made sure they would all be busy at this time.

Unsurprisingly, only Gokudera hadn't wanted to leave, and been the hardest to get rid off. Because, once he realized Tsuna would be left alone and unguarded by any of the other guardians, he had insisted he stay for Tsuna protection, which was ridiculous.

Tsuna was perfectly capable of caring for himself. And, if Tsuna were to run into someone stronger than him, Gokudera wouldn't be much help or stand much of a chance. In fact his Storm Guardian's presence would actually do more harm then good: because Tsuna's attention would be divided between fighting this hypothetical, stronger-than-him, enemy and protecting his right hand man.

Besides, he wouldn't be able to relax if he had to deal with Gokudera constantly breathing down his neck.

Don't get him wrong, Tsuna deeply cares for his friend, but Gokudera is extremely overprotective and worries about everything. Not to mention he was pretty sure that Haru and Gokudera would most likely clash, as the sliver haired young man had never taken kindly to having strangers, even if Haru wasn't much of a stranger to Tsuna, near his boss.

He could already imagine the disaster the evening would be if he had allowed his right hand man to come with him. It would no doubt end with them getting banned from the movie theater for life. Shaking his head to clear his mind of such thoughts Tsuna grabbed his car keys and headed out.

 **...**

"No."

"Come on."

"No! You paid last time."

"Haru, I'm paying and that's that." Leaving no room for more agreement, Tsuna handed the cashier the money with an apologetic smiled, "Sorry about that."

"You and your girl are so adorable." The cashier, a middle-aged woman cooed, as she placed the cash in the register.

"Thanks." Tsuna smiled.

Haru opened her mouth to say something, but before she could ardently deny being Tsuna's girl, because she is one: not a object, and two: doesn't belong to anyone, said Mafia Boss grabbed the girls arm and began leading the shocked young woman to their seats and, like every gentlemen in the movies, pulled her seat out. Once they were both situated, after a long awkward pause, Haru spoke up.

"W-why does everyone always think we're dating?" Haru muttered, then she turned to Tsuna and added, a little louder, "And, why don't you dispute it?"

Tsuna flushed slightly, surprising the brunette slightly as she was usually the flustered one.

"Well, I, er, I think. It that-" Tsuna paused for a moment to compose himself, and then continued "Who knows?"

Haru raised a eyebrow, "Tsuna-san."

Tsuna turned a shade redder, "Haru, please drop it."

"Fine."

Tsuna sighed in relief, he was glad she had dropped the subject as he wasn't quite sure what he would of told her if she hadn't. How does one tell a girl, that he thinks she's wonderful, amazing, and he wants to know more about her. That he might like her, a lot.

 **…**


	6. 5: The Infamous Mother

**Belbovino: Thank you, I'm glad you like it.**

 **GalanthaDreams: Well, I'm trying to make their progression believable, glad to see it's working somewhat. As for Kyoko: I have no intention to bash on her. I'm simply attempting to realistically portraying a jealous woman, whose feels threatened by the presence of another woman in the life of the object of her affection, but, if it ever starts to veer into the bashing category, tell me so I may correct it.**

 **Summer-162: Thank you and, hopefully, this chapter is of a more suitable length.**

 **FallenBird: Thank you.**

 **And as per usual a thanks to the rest of your readers.**

 **…**

Tsuna sighed tiredly. Thanks to his friends, today had been especially trying. Somehow they had found out he had gone out last night, so he had been questioned all day- Thankfully they didn't know all that had happened, or else he would have been more miserable.

However, it probably wasn't fair to say all of them did, because, in actuality, it was only three of them that gave him trouble and the others just asked a couple questions- except Hibari, he didn't bother the brunet at all, something Tsuna greatly appreciated. T

suna shut the door behind him, clicking the lock behind him to hopeful keep his friends out. He wasn't keen on deal another interrogation from both of the Sasagawa(s), or another around of harassment from Muruko. Shaking his head, Tsuna tried to think of the positives.

Yamamoto had been happy for him, only asked a couple questions about what Haru was like, and had reacted positively when Tsuna had admitted he was interested in the girl romantically.

Gokudera had acted the same way, just more enthusiastically, and had asked if he could meet her soon, something about making sure she was quote: "The right girl for Jūdaime."

Reborn was okay with it, but he was also curious about the girl- granted the hitman hadn't exactly told him that, but it rather obvious he was.

And Chrome, who normally was unsure and rarely gave her opinion, had been rather encouraging.

He only wished that everyone was: the face Kyoko made, when he replied to her inquiry about where he had been yesterday evening by informing her that he had gone out with his new female friend, bothered him.

Ryohei seemed to share in the sentiment, something Tsuna couldn't understand. His sun guardian had never been like this. Ryohei had never cared much about Tsuna's love life- or, rather, lack of therefore. He wasn't the type to judge people before even meeting them either. Tsuna collapsed into his bed, and buried his face in his pillows, wondering just what exactly was wrong with his Nii-san.

 **…**

Haru jolted upwards, her book slipped out of her hands, as the shrill dinging sound of her doorbell rang out. She had just gotten off work and was lounging her bed reading a novel.

 _(Okay, more like attempting to.)_

Try as she might, her thoughts kept straying to the events that occurred yesterday afternoon. She couldn't help it; Tsuna had been so wonderful to her, and she had had so much fun. Once again there was another shrill ring, and Haru groaned in annoyance, displeased about the interruption because interrupting her thoughts, especially when she was thinking about Tsuna, was a grave offense in her book.

As she jumped off her bed and she made her way out of her room, Haru tried to come up with a punishment for whatever sadistic jerk had the nerve to ring her door bell, interrupt both her reading and thoughts, at this hour. There was yet another ring, Haru cursed softly as she hurried to the door and begun to fumble with the lock-her door was rather temperamental: sometimes it would work perfectly, other times it refused to yield itself and Haru would spend forever trying to open and close it.

After several seconds of struggle, the door finally opened and, as Haru took in the feminine figure in front of her, her breath caught in her throat, and her eyes widened. She knew exactly who this person was, thought it had been a good three years and the woman seemed to have aged considerably since then, Haru could never forget that face nor those eyes that haunted her at night.

"Hey, sweetie." Silicone fattened lips stretched in a fake smile, "Gonna let me in?"

Haru's face completely blanked, her reply coming in the form of slamming door in the woman's face and dead bolting it. Instinctively, Haru reached into her pocket, pulled out her phone, stepped away from her door, and, with quivering fingers and an erratic heart beat, tapped the keys in quick succession.

She placed the phone against her ear and tapped her foot against the floor as she listening to the number to dial. Her mind was buzz with terror, and adrenaline was running through her veins, making her jump at the slightest of sounds. Then, after waited what seemed like forever, to Haru's immense relief, person on the other end finally picked up.

"Hello? Sawada Tsunayoshi speaking, who is this?" He sounded groggy, like he had just woken up from a nap- but Haru was too frantic and distracted to think much of it.

"Haru." The brunette replied without preamble, "Tsuna-san, can you come and get me?

"Sure, where are you?"

"My house."

"Oh." His confusion was evident. "Why do you need me to pick you up than?"

"Tsuna- san, I-I'll explain when you get here. For now I just-"

A loud, shrill cry of: 'Open the damn door!" cut Haru off.

"Haru?" Tsuna was wide-awake now, and incredibly worried.

"Just, p-please just c-come and pick me up." Haru voice wavered then, sounding slightly hysterical, she continued, "Please, Tsuna."

"Okay, I'll be there as fast as possible." The line was silent for a moment, "Haru, I don't know whats going on, but be careful."

"I will." Then she hung up.

Her mother was still pounding on the door and Haru knew from experience the woman would run out of patience soon and try to bust her way in. Haru began to run through all the possible places of escape, and it occurred to her that her room had a window that was just big enough for her to jump out off.

Running over to her room, Haru slammed the door shut, but was still able to hear the sound of flesh pounding against wood, and knew that in a matter of minutes Haruka would break the door down. After she locked her bedroom door, Haru pried opened her window, removed the screen, and climbed onto the window still.

There was a moment of hesitation then. The ground looked awefully far away, but, having no choice, she muttered with a brief prayer then vaulted out of her bedroom window. She landed unsteady on her feet and almost fell over, but thanking managed to stay up right. Once she had gather her bearings and began moving away from her apartment, Haru tried to remember when she started to view that woman as a threat.

Haruka hadn't been involved in Haru's life much, even before the woman had walked out on her family. She could faintly recalled a time when she was young - when her mother had still been pretending to love with her father and when Miura Kohaku, was still in line to inherit his adoptive grandfather's fortune - that her mother had been kind However, as soon as father had been disowned, everything had changed.

Haruka stopped being a loving mother and become a vile beast, the beast she had always been. It seemed money was all that mattered to that woman and so it was fitting that she had not been able to get her filthy hands on the money she had so strongly coveted. However, Haru felt incredibly sad on her father's behalf as he had been denied his inheritance and had become estranged from his family for getting involved with her gold-digger of a mother- if Haruka could even be called a mother at this point.

Looking over her shoulder, Haru noted she had cover quite the distance, but she could still made Haruka's loud cursing, and, knew she need to duck for cover- Haruka would come out any minute and would doubtlessly see her nineteen-year-old daughter panicking in the parking lot.

She began cursing herself for not paying attention to her surroundings, her eyes frantically searched for a hideaway. And, once she realized there was no where to hide and panic started to takeover, her savior arrived in-the form of a familiar luxury car. Haru sighed in relief as the car came to a stop a right in front of her, then eagerly yanked the door opened, and climbed into the vehicle.

Haru shot him a small grin as she sat down. "Thank Kami-sama you're here."

"Haru?" Tsuna began, "Are you-"

A shrill call of: "Stupid girl, how dare you run from me!" cut him off.

Moments later, Haru heard the familiar sound of Haruka, once again, cursing loudly. Even from a distance, both Haru and Tsuna could easily see Haruka stomp over to her car, clamber into it, and drive off.

All was quiet for several tense moments, then Tsuna turned to his the sole passenger of his car. His expression schooled into impassiveness, the mafia boss snapped at her in a seemingly even tone, but Haru could sense the anger, the accusation, and the betrayal he was feeling: "That was _**Pesca** _ Haruka. How do you know her?"

However, Haru, her mind still whirling from her the encounter with hellish terror that was her mother, didn't even reply. She was too busy thinking of what was to come and how unpleasant it would be, as, every time that woman reappeared, horrible things tended to happen.

Tsuna, annoyed at Haru's unresponsiveness, was about to demand she tell him her connection to the wife of one of his biggest enemies, when he saw the terrified face on the brunette and sudden;y stopped.

He had finally recalled Haru's negative reaction to that woman's presence and, now that he was paying attention to his intuition, he realized the obvious fact that Haru was more bothered by Haruka's presence than he was.

"I wish she would just die." Haru muttered, her body coiled with tension, "Die and finally let me live my life in peace."

There were few people Haru could say she hated, she was generally very forgiving. But Haru could say, with bone deep certainty, that she loathed Miura Haruka with every iota of her being.

Haruka had been a horrible mother, a terrible wife, and an altogether rancid, despicable, and self-absorbed human being. The thought that the deplorable woman was still around to poison and wreak havoc on Haru's life drove the brunette mad. Haru couldn't stand it, the woman just had to come and ruin her life, now she, Haru, was finally stable again.

These past three months since meeting Sawada Tsunayoshi, the dangerously handsome possible criminal, had been almost dreamlike in their perfectness. But of course things never went her way for long, and that woman just had come to her apartment today and ruin everything.

In hindsight, it was now obvious that the day, over a month ago, when a man had come to her work place, mentioned that vile woman's name, and insinuated that Haru was just like her mother, had been a warning. And, had she realized it sooner, she wouldn't have gotten into this mess.

 _Of course_ , Haru thought, in desperate need of comfort, and drowning in self-pity, _things never go my way for long._

Haru began muttering several anger and colorful phrases underneath her breath, and, without noticing it, she started verbalizing her thoughts: "With some luck, she'll just drop dead, but I've never been lucky."

"So I'm guessing you must really hate this woman."

Her thoughts derailed, she had completely forgotten Tsuna was here.

"I-I, well, Tsuna, err…" She trailed off awkwardly, unsure of how she could explain or if she even wanted to explain such a private and personal issue to Tsuna. This was a very sensitive topic for her, she had only every shared it with two people, both of which were close friends, and even then it had taken her years to finally confide in them.

"You don't got to tell me everything, but can you at least tell me how you know her." Tsuna grasped her hand giving it a reassuring squeeze, "I don't mean to pry, but I need to know."

Haru decided, noting the carefully hidden urgency in his tone that few would be able to pick up on, that, as he had rescued her from the mad woman, telling him of her relation to Haruka was the least she could do.

"She was the woman who carried me in her womb for nine months." Haru breathed in deeply, trying to reign in her emotions, "In other words, she's my mother."

 **…**

 **I hope this doesn't seem rushed. I had thought of moving this, but, as nice as it is to write fluff, I figure the plot needed to start moving along. Lastly, to those celebrating it: Happy Thanksgiving.**


	7. 6: Revelations and Arrival

**…**

 ** _She was the woman who carried me in her womb for nine months." Haru breathed in deeply, trying to reign in her emotions, "In other words, she's my mother."_**

 **…**

Giving her a quick cursory glance, Tsuna's eyes narrowed: "You looked nothing like her."

Haru was slightly thrown off by his comment, "Err, well, I-I take after my father."

"Your father?" Tsuna eyes gleamed with curiosity, "Who is he?"

Haru smiled ruefully, "He was a good man, who was taken from this world way too soon."

Tsuna was unsure what to say to that. He couldn't imagine what it was like to lose a parent; both of his were still breathing. But as it turned out he didn't have to say anything, because, Haru, not knowing why, proceeded to tell Tsuna everything - it should noted, however, that it hadn't been her intension to tell him anything at all.

It seemed to her that there was something about Tsuna that made her trust him. And, so she spilled her guts, telling him how Haruka brought out the very worst in her father.

How she had been forced to go hungry and wear old clothes that she had outgrown long ago because, even though her father made good money, Haruka would spend all of it on herself and her vices.

How as her mother had never loved her, always putting Haru down and destroying her self-confidence with carefully calculated words.

That, every time she cried, her mother would chide her for showing weakness, or claim Haru was trying to manipulate her with tears that were put on for the sake of getting attention.

By the time she began talking about the fights her parents would have, Haru felt a familiar prickle of tears in her eyes and her vision began to blur. Her father would always stand there and take it as Haruka spit and snarled out the most obscene of curses at him.

Then, Haru told him about the day Haruka left.

How she left nothing behind, except a note telling them that she was done wasting her time with a deadbeat loser and stupid brat. Haru could still remember her father desolate face as he read the letter aloud, his body shaking as he clung to his daughter. Lastly, she revealed to him that Miura Kohaku had been murdered three years ago. Through it all, Tsuna had said nothing, did nothing, until the very end of her story. And, even then, all he did was pull her against him, while she broke down.

 **…**

"For the last time Haru, you aren't going back there. It's not safe. "

She was glaring at him. Tsuna reclined on his couch; he had taken Haru to one of his many safe houses after they had gone into the girl's apartment and found it trashed.

The police had been notified, but Tsuna was well aware nothing would come of it. This was Mafia Business and the police always stayed out of that. Mostly because the higher ups in the justice system were either corrupt, or fearful of the ramifications that would ensue if they stuck their nose in the Mafia.

And, even if the police did do something, which was, as aforementioned, borderline impossible, it would make no difference. Nonetheless, Tsuna was not about to let Haru back into that place, and had told the girl so; something, he knew, she wasn't necessary happy , if he recalled correctly, she said something about staying here would mean letting Haruka win.

But, Tsuna knew, once the girl realized just how dangerous, how risky, going back there would be, she would understand that it was necessary precaution. But, for that to happen, Tsuna had to tell her exactly why she couldn't go back to that crummy apartment that had been her home, and, to do so, he have to tell her who he was- even though he really didn't want to.

"Haru."

The girl was still glaring and looked positively livid but, nonetheless, nodded to show she was listening.

"You obviously know that I'm involved in something dangerous and mostly likely illegal, right?"

Haru rolled her eyes, "That is obvious. You showed up covered in blood, and killed two people in front of me. What of it?"

"Well, to be blunt," He paused, seemingly contemplating how he was going to break the news.

After a minute or two of silence, his stalling starting to annoy Haru, causing the girl to snap out a: "Get on with it."

Tsuna breathed heavily, "I'm a Mafia Boss."

All was silent as he trying to gauge her reaction, and, from what he could tell, she was surprised, but was trying not to let it show; although it was obvious she had kind of figured he had been involved in some sort of organized crime syndicate, but she probably thought he was Yakuza, so the fact he was Mafia, and a boss at that, probably threw her off. So, with that in mind, he broke the silence once more.

"Remember how earlier I was very upset when I saw your mother, earlier."

Haru, vaguely recalling the maliciousness he had tried to conceal from her when he asked how she knew the woman, nodded. "Yeah, why was that?"

"I was getting to that." He took another deep breath then continued, "Your mother, she is, well, married to a dangerous man. The boss of the Pesca Famiglia, one of my Famiglia's biggest enemies, to be specific."

Haru eyes widened and her head was spinning mile a minute then she finally realized why Tsuna didn't want her go back to her apartment, "You're scared they will find out, or have found out, that we're friends and will try to use me to get to you."

"Yeah, I am, but it's not just them, I'm worried about. You see, Haru, I've got a lot of enemies; enemies that would do anything, hurt anyone, to get to me." Tsuna sighed heavily then added, underneath his breath, "That's why I should- no, I need to stop hanging around you. You'll get hurt."

Before her brain could even finish processing what Tsuna had said, her hand, seemingly moving of it's own according, slapped against Tsuna's cheek with a resounding smack leaving behind pinkish hand-shaped mark in it's wake.

"I won't let you!" Haru glowered darkly at the shocked Mafia Boss, "Damn it, Tsuna, don't you know how to be a friend!?"

Tsuna, still too shocked to react, merely continued to stare blankly at the infuriated young woman. However, as it turned out, he didn't have to say anything, Haru had not planned on waiting for his answer.

"Right now, by trying to push me away, you're not acting like a friend should- like a true friend. But, you know what, I'm not going to let you walk away, and, as of today, you're stuck with me- got that?"

Dumbly, he nodded in affirmative, having been completely stunned, breathless, speechless.

And for a few beats an stunned silence reigned, then once again Haru spoke.

"Oh, umm, Sorry about slapping you. It's just that you made Haru so angry, and…" She trailed off awkwardly.

Tsuna grinned slightly, hoping to reassure the girl. "Don't worry about it. It's not like I didn't deserve it."

Once again there were a few beats of silence, and her expression sheepish, Haru asked: "Err, Tsuna?"

"Yes?"

"This is probably a stupid question, but, what's a Famiglia?"

 **…**

Haru collapsed on the soft bed, and, with fleeting surprise, noticed that the sheets were made of silk. Had her mind not been swimming from Tsuna earlier revelations, she would have noticed the other commodities.

Such as the huge master bathroom, the walk in closet, the flat screen TV, the gorgeous view she had of Namimori, and the fact that the apartment was situated in the most affluent part of town. However, she was out of it, and, at the moment, the fact she would be staying in an expensive and fully equipped apartment for the foreseeable future was not on her mind.

She had more pressing thoughts in her head, such as the fact that she knew, without a shadow of doubt; Tsuna was still keeping things from her. There was something, he wasn't telling her. Now Haru knew it wasn't her place to pry. Tsuna was entitled to have a few secrets and considering they had only known each other for a short while it was fine.

She was incredibly humbled that he had already trusted her with the fact he was in the Mafia. It blew her mind that he trusted her enough to tell her that; however, she couldn't help but want to know more. She couldn't help but want to learn more about Tsuna, the man who fascinated her.

 **…**

The cloudless, starless, and almost black sky of the city, was one of the many things she did not miss. Instead she found herself longing to be back in mountains and away from civilization where the night sky was always painted with endless dots of sliver.

Taking a deep breath, she was annoyed to find the air was just as polluted as she remembered and nowhere near as fresh as she was use too. Pulling her sweater a little tighter, the dark haired girl made her way out of the airport.

Stepping out into the streets of Namimori, she, once again, wonder if returning to this town had been a good idea. This town had been the stage where so much of her much of her pain had played out.

She tucked a lock of her wavy black hair behind her ear and hailed a taxi, and wished she could still afford to stay at the lovely inn in the mountains. The place had been her haven, her home, these last few years.

Again, Kurokawa Hana wondered if coming back to Namimori was a good idea.

Yes, she missed her friends, and was out of money so she really had no choice- but she could she stand it? Could she stand being in the same town as _him_? Would she have the will to refuse him?

Hana hated herself, she hated herself so much, because she couldn't, no, didn't want to answer that; Because, she knew, that if Sasagawa Ryohei came to her with flowers, chocolates, and begged for forgiveness there was a high likelihood, even after all these years, that she would take him back.

Hana hated herself. She really did. Because she still loved him, even though it killed her everyday.

The wisdom of returning to Namimori of all places was highly questionable.

Because being here, so close to him, would probably break her for good.

 **...**


	8. 7: An Old Friend

**…**

 **Ch. 8: An Old Friend**

 **…**

Haru reclined in her seat; she was break resting up for rush hour, knowing that in an hour the Café would be filled to a brim- but right now it was empty. Haru sighed as she remembered the argument this morning. Tsuna had tried to stop her from going to work today but Haru put her foot down- she had already given up her home, but, giving up her job was another story. That just wasn't gong to happen. She actually liked working, it gave her something to do, and enjoyed the few hours she got to spend with her friend and fellow coworker.

But, most importantly, she didn't want to depend entirely on Tsuna- she already depended on him too much as it was, and was fearful of the ramifications should she continue this trend of dependence. Perhaps, she was being stupid, but she couldn't help it. Haru had lost a lot and was scared of getting too attached- least she break, when she is inevitably left behind.

Not that Haru thought Tsuna would leave her, or rather she hoped he wouldn't leave of his volition. But she figured that either circumstance, the reason most people have left her, would rip them away from each other, or like in the case of her father: death. And, despite the fact they had only been friends for a few months, Haru wasn't sure she could bear it. Tsuna had become her protector, her friend, and, when she allowed herself to be honest, the man she absolutely adored.

She couldn't say she loved him yet, but she'd say she was getting there.

Tsuna had walked right into her heart, by passing all of her defenses. Though, admittedly, Haru was a bit of a bleeding heart, but she hadn't even thought to defend herself. He had put her instantly at ease, had been able to calm her down from hysterics within in moments of truly meeting her. Haru was completely and utterly enthralled by him, and she slightly hated herself for it, because she knew she was setting her self on a path that, she believed, would only lead to heartbreak, because Tsuna would ever look at her like that.

 _Or would he?_ Haru thought recalling the flustered face of the normally composed young man, when she had asked him why he let people assume they were dating. Then how protective he was of her and how he was letting her live in one of the many apartments he own for free. _Could it be that Tsuna-san likes me?_ A worm feeling erupted in Haru's chest and her cheeks reddened at the thought _._ Haru's eyes widened, slightly bewildered that even just **_considering_** of the possibility of Tsuna falling for her caused cheeks to flush and heart to speed up.

However the warm feelings disappeared as quickly as they came, when a sudden thought occurred to Haru and made her mood darken: _But, maybe this is all just willful thinking? Maybe I'm looking too much into Tsuna-san's actions and he only doing this for me because we are friends?_

Nonetheless despite her attempts to crush it, the image of Tsuna flushed face and his inability to answered her question the day he took her to the movies some weeks ago, gave her hope. _Tsuna … I could love you, could you maybe love me too?_

 **…**

Tsuna sighed heavily, as he looked over the large stack of papers on his desk. He couldn't focus, but he couldn't leave his office either. Normally Tsuna would rather be anywhere but locked in his office doing paperwork- except Kyoko was here; Kyoko, who was becoming more aggressive in her pursuit of getting answers on just who Haru was.

He was not in the mood to deal with her failed attempts to subtly get answers out of him. It was painful to see her try, even without hyper intuition it would be incredibly obvious to Tsuna what she was trying to do. He sighed again, grabbed his pen and continued working- he didn't want to think of his crumbling friendship. It hurt, to think he was losing someone who he had cared for, who, at one point, he loved- no, wait, he still loved her but as a sister- that's all he felt for her and all she was to him: a sibling- the younger sister he had always wanted, but he had never had. Such a shame it wasn't be enough for her.

 **…**

Haru eyed the woman that was sitting towards the back of the café curiously, the lady was wearing some large glasses, which obscured a large part of her face, but Haru still swore she recognized something about this woman. Maybe it was the short wavy black hair or the way she held herself, perchance her mannerisms- it all seemed vaguely familiar. And so, giving into her curiosity, Haru grabbed her notepad, pasted on a mega-watt smile and made her way to the familiar looking customer.

"Welcome to Hanasaki Café, I'm Miura Haru and I will be-."

"Haru-chan?!"

Jumping at the interruption, the brunette's eyes widened, immediately recognizing the voice. "Hana!"

The black haired woman nodded, "The one and only."

"I-I, err, how have you been? I haven't seen or heard from you in forever. "

"Okay I guess." Removing the sunglasses Haru found her staring at the familiar grey eyes of one of her closet friends: Kurokawa Hana.

Haru raised an eyebrow, "You don't sound to okay."

There were a few beats of silence.

"I suppose I should have know better than to try and pull one over you. You've always been good at reading people." Hana chuckled ruefully, "Ah, where to begin?"

"Preferably at the beginning."

"Cheeky as always I see." Hana smiled slightly before becoming solemn. "Well the gist of it is that I've been cut off, and disowned."

Haru's eyes widened, "What?"

"My parents cut me off." Hana repeated, " And disowned me. I don't want to talk about the gritty details, so just leave it at that okay."

"Oh, err, well then, um, Hana, do you got a-"

Already knowing what the girl was going to ask, Hana cut her off, "No, but, I still have some money left, so I'm good for two months or so, before I run out. But, don't worry about it, I'm sure I'll find job soon."

Haru opened her mouth to reply but quickly closed it. She had been planning to offer Hana a place to stay when she remembered two things: 1. She no longer had an apartment of her own. 2. To do that she'd need Tsuna's permission. There was a tense moment of silence with Haru desperately searching for a way to comfort the young woman before her, only to find herself coming up empty.

"But enough about me." Hana waved her hand, and seemingly attempting to scaring off the gloomy atmosphere that had befallen on them. "How have you been? Well I hope."

"Well, I've been-" Feeling guilty Haru hesitated, but a quick glare from Hana got made her continue: "Things have been looking up me- well, actually, there have been a few hitches but nonetheless."

"Hitches?"

"My mother."

Hana's eyes widened. "She's here?!"

"Yeah."

"How are you so calm about it then?! You flipped out last time."

"Well, er- I someone helping me this time."

"Spill."

"Well, um, Hana, promise you won't, er, make fun of me?"

"Why would I do that?"

"Just promise."

"Okay, I promise. Now spill."

"Well, you see, a few months ago, I met this guy." Haru began,

…

"So let me get this straight." Hana took a deep breath. "This guy, who's name you have yet to tell me, save you twice: once from gangsters, and once from your mother. And, now he's letting you stay in one of his apartments to protect you from your mother?"

Haru nodded, "Yeah."

"Why?"

"Well." Haru started to reply but once again found herself at a loss.

Because what could she say? She couldn't tell Hana the truth. She couldn't tell her that it was because: he's a mafia boss, who just happened be passing by and, thankfully, hates seeing defenseless and innocent women getting threatened- and, therefore, came to her rescue but, once he disposed of the gangsters, passed out. And than that Haru, instead of running way, decided to drag his unconscious and blood saturated body to her apartment. Then, due the fact she lacks common sense, she decided becoming friends with him, even though he had killed two people in front of her, was a good idea. But most importantly, how could Haru tell her, that she doesn't regret it? That she'd do it again in a heartbeat?

"Because he's just that good of a person."

There were few beats of silence then Hana smirked, "This guy, you like him don't you?"

"I-I, er, umm, well-"

Hana cut her off. "That's wonderful."

"You think so?"

"Yeah," Hana smiled nostalgically. She knew what it was like to be in Haru's position, though it sounded like Haru was fallen for a sweeter and altogether better man than she had. With any luck, this guy wouldn't anything like the man she had loved, still loves, because she didn't want to see Haru be hurt or lied to. Most of all, she didn't want the poor girl to suffer; she had been through enough as it is. Shaking off her dark thoughts, Hana's smile turned predatory, "So, who is this guy?"

Haru stuck out her tongue, "I'm not telling."

Hana pouted, looking very much like a child who just had their cookie stolen.

"No fun." Then her face turned serious, "But Haru you got to be careful. I don't want to see you-

"You don't want me to get hurt like you did." Haru paused for a moment, then asked the question that had been on her mind for a while: "You still love Sasagawa-san, don't you?"

It was more of a statement than a question.

"Yeah," Hana chuckled ruefully, "I hate it you know. I hate that I still love him. He lied to me so much. I-"

"I know." Hana didn't have to tell her this, Haru was well aware of the pain Hana's ex had caused her.

Though, inwardly, Haru would admit, that she couldn't help but be relieve that she didn't have to suffer as her friend was, because Tsuna had already proven he that he could and would trust her.

"Let me finish, Haru, I need to get this off my chest." Hana breathed deeply. "He never trusted me with anything. And, loving him cost me more than it was worth, so did leaving. Haru, I-I lost all of my friends. I lost a sister. I lost almost everything."

"But, you've still got me." Haru supplied, with a shy smile.

"Yeah," Hana grinned, her eyes lighting up. "Thank the universe for that."


	9. 8: Bus Stop

**…**

 **Ch. 9: Bus Stop**

 **…**

"I'm sorry Jūdaime. Please forgive me!"

Glowering at the wreckage in front of him, Tsuna tried and failed to calm himself, "You blew up our car! How are we going to get home now?!"

"We can take the bus." Yamamoto supplied.

"Okay, but does anyone know where the nearest bus stop is?" Tsuna asked.

His question was met by silence.

 **…**

Haru hissed as she slumped onto the ground, her muscles aching from excursion, and hating herself for being dumb enough to agree to help Namiko redecorate her home. Sighing in contentment, Haru took a deep drink from her cold water bottle and took a look at her watch, noting it was time she went home. Calling a quick goodbye to her similarly exhausted friend, Haru stood up and began making her way out of Namiko's house. As she walked out the door and onto the street, Haru thought back on the last time she had seen the young Mafia boss she was interested in. It had been about three weeks or so, since they had met face to face. She had a feeling it was because that idiot was trying to make sure no one saw them together, so no one would target her to get to him. She pouted slightly, hadn't she told Tsuna not to do that? _Well perhaps not explicitly_ , Haru admitted, _but it was implied!_

Haru bit her lip, _At least, because of this; I don't have to introduce him to Hana or Namiko yet. Now that would be fun… Who am I kidding, that'd be so awkward, like meeting the parents except worse- so much worse. There's no secret they don't know_.

Shaking her head at herself, Haru once again check her watch and gasped: She was going to miss the bus! Cursing under breath, she spied the path in front of her, seeing it empty, she broke into a sprint. The world blurred and her heels clicked against the ground, as she shot down the street. Perhaps, if she hadn't been busy inwardly panicking, she would have seen him coming. Then maybe she would have avoid their collision and made a better first impression on his right hand man. But she didn't, and so she crashed into him. However, thankfully, he had been stable enough not to fall, but she definably wasn't, so she fell onto the concrete.

"Damn it!" She muttered as she sat up, " Why do you hate Haru, Universe, when Haru has always been nice, and polite?"

"I doubt that."

"Shut up. I'm the epitome of nice and pol- Tsuna-san!" Haru's face whipped upwards, then she muttered, "Figures. "

Tsuna blinked in confusions, "Huh?"

"I blame you." Haru announced with flourish and she stood up and dusted herself off.

"Haru, what are you going on a-"

However, Tsuna never got to finish as a loud cry of: "Apologize to Jūdaime!" interrupted him.

Haru winced at the volume, and looked to see a sliver haired young man being restrained by a tall black haired man.

"Umm, Tsuna-san?" Haru muttered worriedly.

"Gokudera." Said man stopped struggling as Tsuna called out his name, "Stop. She got nothing to apologize for."

Tsuna then turned to Haru, "Sorry about him."

Haru smiled, "It's fine."

"So what were you running for?"

Haru sighed, "The bus, but I missed it, so now I got to wait an hour."

"Well, umm, would you mind company?"

"Huh?" Haru blinked curiously, "You ride the bus!?"

Tsuna laughed at her incredulous tone.

"My car was blown up, so yeah, I kind of have too." Tsuna shot a pointed look at Gokudera, who had the decency to look sheepish.

Haru raised an eyebrow, "Do I even what to know?"

Tsuna shook his head, "Probably not."

"Really? Now, I'm kinda curious."

"Please don't ask. "Then Tsuna offered her an awkward smile, "So, umm, Haru could you show us where the bus stop is."

Haru snickered, "Sure follow me."

 **…**

Tsuna was on the phone talking, from what she could gather, to some guy named Reborn, and Gokudera was glowering at her as said girl sat on the bench and swung her legs back in forth.

"So how did you meet?"

Haru turn to at the black haired boy next to her who, Tsuna had told her, was named Takeshi Yamamoto. It was the first time the guy had spoken directly to her. In fact, until then, only Tsuna had really been talking to her.

"Well, when Haru first saw him he was covered in blood and shot two people." Haru paused briefly taking in the wide-eyed look on Yamamoto's face, then added, "And saved Haru's life. But we didn't get to talk because he passed out right after."

"Really?"

Haru nodded, "Yeah, had to drag him to my apartment. A little bit after that, he woke up, so Haru had him clean off and we talked for a couple hours. You know, Tsuna-san turned out to be nothing like what Haru had expected."

"A lot of people say that." Yamamoto grew quiet for while, seemingly contemplating something weighty and important. After coming to a decision on whatever it was that was weighting on his mind, he asked: "How long have you been friends?"

"A little over three months or so. Why?"

Maybe, she was just imagining it but she could have sworn his eyes carried a knowing look- as though he was privy to information she didn't have.

"No reason."

"Really?" Haru raised an eyebrow and shot him a look that showed him she didn't quite believe him,

"Ha-ha, er, Yeah." He sounded awkward.

Haru decided to change the topic, she didn't want to alienate Tsuna's friend or make him feel awkward.

"So, how did you meet Tsuna-san?"

"Kinda like you did." Yamamoto smiled slightly, "He also save me life."

"Well, saving lives is a good way to make friends." Haru noted.

"Hehe, I guess."

"Tsuna-san is really good person isn't he?' Haru tone soft and affectionate, and she unconsciously smiled as she watched Tsuna from the corner if her eye,

"Yeah, he is," Yamamoto, replied.

Haru turned her attention back to the Rain Guardian. His eyes had softened, and he was smiling warmly. Haru couldn't help but feel like she had passed some sort of test.

 **…**

The trip on the bus had been woefully unpleasant, just as Tsuna had predicted, Gokudera and Haru had clashed horribly. Though, Tsuna knew that it was largely because his Storm Guardian had gone out of his way to make the girl uncomfortable and purposely pushed her buttons.

And, frankly, Tsuna was utterly disgusted by Gokudera's treatment of the girl. However, he would admit he was proud of the petite brunette. She had handled Gokudera's antagonist behavior for almost two hours rather well. Though, admittedly, towards the end, the girl had gotten rather angry, but considering what she had suffered through, it was perfectly acceptable.

Tsuna slumped onto his sofa, eying his two guardians that sat confortable across from him. Silence reigned for a few moments, and then Yamamoto spoke up.

"So that Haru girl, she's that new lady friend of yours, isn't she?"

"What? She is-Jūdaime! Please tell me that he's wrong-"

"He isn't."

"So she's-"

Tsuna cut him off, once again: "Yeah, she is. Is there a problem?"

"Of course not!" Gokudera denied with fervor "It's just that, I sort of expected her to be different."

Tsuna raised an eyebrow, "How so?"

"Well, I expected her to be kinda like, excuse me for saying this, Sasagawa's little sister, that Kyoko girl. You know, exotic and sugary, with sunny disposition." Gokudera explained, "But this other girl, she was different. She's dark; there's nothing that really stands out at first glace. She seems kind of unladylike, nothing like the Idiots sister."

Tsuna wasn't sure how he could say to that, but, thankfully, Yamamoto cut in.

"Well, I like her, she seems nice, and obviously really cares about you, Tsuna."

The Mafia Boss flushed a bit at that statement.

Gokudera glowered at the Rain Guardian, "No one asked for your opinion! And…"

Tsuna sighed, heavily as his right-hand man began to yell at his Rain Guardian. _Why can't Gokudera ever play nice to others_?

 **…**

"This Haru girl." Reborn reclined into his seat, "What do you think of her?"

Yamamoto grinned, "I approve."

 **…**

 **A/N: Sorry, I been working on other things lately- some for KHR. However, I've also been working on some Harry Potter AUs, because inspiration hit, so updates may be slow from now on. Anyhow hope you all liked this, please give some feed back.**


	10. 9: Histories

**For reviewing, favoriting, following and reading this story: "Thank You."**

 **…**

 **Ch. 10: Histories**

 **…**

Haru was sitting on Hana's couch, sipping on green tea, while assessing Hana's apartment, while her friend ran around and finished tidying up.

It seemed as though fortune's hand had been tipped into Hana favor, as this was a far cry from the jobless, recently cut off, downtrodden girl she had seen a few weeks prior. Now Hana was a productive member of society, working a desk job at a local pharmacy.

Haru was rather pleased, it seemed life was looking up for both of them now. Still, as she sunk further into the slightly worn, but comfortable couch, she thought of how they became friends.

It was a sultry summer day and Haru, ever a confectionary enthusiast, often visited the local sweets shop to try free samples and, whenever she managed to scrap up enough money, buy a few sweets- and it just so happened that, that day in particular, she had been doing the latter.

Haru had saved weeks, having been hoping to buy a giant milk chocolate bar. But, just as she had been going to pay, to her horror, she came up a few yen short.

And that was when Hana came in. Coming from a wealthy family, the black haired teen was never short on money and had gone to the store to by some sweets for one of her friends.

Anyhow, as Hana browsed through the small store for a small basket of lollipops, she caught sight of Haru's utterly crestfallen expression, and something about it moved her sympathies.

What happened next is most obvious. Haru smiled at the thought as she took a sip of her tea, for that day she had not only left the store with a giant chocolate bar, but also with a new friend.

Haru set her teacup down and tuned back into her friend — whom was baring a bowl of chips and taking a seat in the recliner in front of her.

"So, you said you had a story to tell." Haru prompted, giving the girl her full attention now that she had been shaken out of her reminiscing.

Hana nodded, "Yeah, umm, well, I saw Ryohei today."

Haru leaped up from her seat: "What!? Y-you can't just lay that on me with no warning! E-Explain."

"He came to pick up some pain medications and apparently he studying to be a doctor."

"So, let me get this straight." Haru sighed heavily, trying to calm herself. "You not only saw Ryohei, but you spoke to him?"

Hana nodded.

"And you didn't tell me earlier because…"

"I didn't know how to handle it." Hana admitted, sheepishly. "I still don't know how to handle this. Royhei was such an integral part of my life, even before we started going out. We- we went through so much together and I-I don't, I can't- it just that this is so messed up. Our's wasn't the usual break up- we, I- Well, I still loved him and he said he still loved me. So it not like I- er- well, I don't have the closure needed to end these feelings."

"Hana..."

"I-damn it." Hana sighed, "Let stop talking about this please."

"Okay…"

It was quite for a moment, and then Hana abruptly asked, "How are you and your new boy toy?"

"B-Boy T-toy!? Hana!"

"I am just messing with you." The girl smiled slightly; pleased she had been able to change the topic. "But, really how are you and this mystery man?"

"It I-I. Well, he has been wonderful to me." Haru replied, knowing her friend needed a distraction. "And I got to meet two of his friends a few days ago. One of them was really nice, the other was really rude though."

"You don't say."

"Yeah, he…"

 **…**

Tsuna did not know Hana very well – his crush on Kyōki made it hard for them to be friends as she had been terrifyingly protective of the then-School-Idol.

But, she was also kind of cool and Tsuna had kind of admired her. And once, he had gotten over his infatuation for the younger Sasagawa, they had been on their way to becoming friends, which naturally never came to pass as she and Ryohei broke up.

And then Hana left, Tsuna, upon find out the reason for the break up, didn't talk to Ryohei for over three months.

And now here he was, watching his sun Guardian pace the floor over that very girl.

"So you saw Hana today."

Ryohei turned to face his boss. "Yes."

"And you spoke to her, and at some point mentioned you are studying to be a doctor and she actually talked back and you think maybe she has gotten over you because she looked so calm and — this is stupid." Tsuna shook his head, "Look Ryohei, assuming things will get you nowhere — all it leads to is misunderstandings, which was, and is, what got you into this mess in the first place. So, if you want to know what Hana feels with certainty, you need to talk to her— not me, her. So, next time you see her, speak to her, and ask her: if she willing to let you back into her life. And, if she is still in love with you, I need you to promise me you will tell her the truth-"

"Tsuna-"

"Because she doesn't deserve one of your stupid lies." Tsuna gave his Sun Guardian a hard look. "Do not do the same thing my father did. That road will only lead to pain and not just for you and Hana. "

 **…**

"And he was like that the whole bus ride- absolutely terrible."

"What a jerk." Hana then asked: "So... what was this guys name?"

Haru hesitated for a brief second; then, deciding it would hurt, said: "Well, er, I'm not sure if it was his last name or first name but, they called him, Gokudera-"

"Silver hair, smokes, and looks a bit foreign." Hana interrupted, wide-eyed.

"Uh, yes?" Haru replied her tone full of confusion and wariness. "...Why?"

"Because I know him," Hana muttered than added in a louder tone: "Haru, I know him and his full name is: Gokudera Hayato."

"Really?"

"Yes, he was, is, one of Ryohei's friends."

"Ryohei's friends…" Haru looked thoughtful for a moment then asked, "Hana, do you happen to know anyone named Sawada Tsunayoshi?"

"You've met Dame-Tsuna?" Hana leaped up for her seat, "Where? When? Is he the man who has been helping you? Because that certainly sounds like something that softhearted idiot would do."

Haru latched on to the first part of Hana's tirade. "Dame-Tsuna? Why did you call Sawada-san a Dame, Hana?"

Hana blinked in confusion for a moment before flashing her a sheepish look, "Sorry, I keep forgetting you didn't go to Namimori."

"It's alright, but could you explain please?"

"Yeah, well, Sawada-san, as you called him, use to be sort of a loser. He was short, scrawny, socially awkward, and sort of slow. That is until his mom got him a tutor. I don't really know the details, just that this tutor of his whipped him into shape. His grades improved by leaps and bounds. His social skills improved greatly and you could see him hanging out with the most popular, attractive, and intelligent people in Namimori: like Yamamoto Takashi, Gokudera, Hibari Kyōya, Ryohei and his sister, my former best friend and school idol, Kyoko. Though despite this we weren't real close. I was very protective of Kyoko and Tsuna use to have a crush on her, of which I did not approve of." Hana paused for a moment, "He crushed on her for years. It took until the end of high school for him to move on, and that when we started to become good friends, but then the whole mess with Ryohei happened. And you know, I left the town, and refused to talk to anyone who knew him so we never did fully become friends. Though, Tsuna is a good guy, you know. He had been one of the few to defend me, when the whole mess happened."

Hana grew silent then, and Haru struggled desperately to come up with something to say.

"Hana, I- he, umm…" Haru sighed, "I don't what to say."

"You don't need to say anything. It's not entirely Ryohei's fault I lost all my friends. In fact that it was largely my doing. I could have stayed in touch." Hana shot Haru an apologetic look. "For goodness sake, I didn't even talk to you and you had nothing to with any of it. I was being stupid and there were a lot of things I could have done, but I was too much of coward, a fool."

 **…**

Tsuna sighed heavily as he collapsed on his bed, but though he was tired he was also rather pleased with himself. It had taken a few years, but he had finally gotten through to his friend. Now, with any luck, nothing would happen to reverse all of his work and Ryohei would finally fix things up with Hana.

For his part, Tsuna hoped so. He hated the man his Sun Guardian had become. It depressed him to see his friend, who should be energetic and upbeat, look and be so down all the time. It would be a relief to see Ryohei regain his spirit and it would take a weight huge off him.

Because, really, one Sasagawa related problem was bad enough; Tsuna did not need two of them.

 **…**

 **I appreciate any and all feedback. Have any questions feel free to leave a review and I will answer in my notes at the top of the chapter.**


	11. 10: No place was sacred

**A/N: This will probably be the last update of the year, so: Happy Holidays and New Year to all.**

 **...**

Haru smiled in relief as she slipped off her shoes and closed the door behind her. Today had been a rather tiring day and she wanted nothing more than to curl up in her bed with a good book and a cup of warm tea.

Setting down her keys on the kitchen counter, Haru grabbed the tea kettle from the shelf, poured water in it, and set it on the stove.

 _What should I drink,_ Haru wondered as she turned to the tea cabinet, and looked over her surprisingly varied collection of teas. _Chamomile, Green or-_

The sharp ring of her cellphone cut off any further thought, pulling out the small device, Haru accepted the call. _"Miura Haru speaking. Who is this?"_

"Haru." The very familiar and worried voice of Tsunayoshi Sawada replied, "Where are you?"

"At the apartment wh-"

"Good."

Haru frowned, there was something off about Tsuna's tone. "Has something happened?"

"Yes."

"Wha-"

"Not important right now." Tsuna cut in, "Now I need you to listen to me understand?"

"Yes, but-"

"Go make sure everything is locked, and I mean everything: all the windows and both the back and front doors, got it?"

"Yes."

"Go do it now." Tsuna then added a few beats later: "Haru, I am sorry if I acting bit- Damn it!"

There was hissing sound, Haru heard a muffled cry of "Decimo", and then Tsuna sighed heavily.

"Look, I just- Haru- I mean...I'm no good at this."

"Tsuna" Haru asks after she hears a loud clicking sound and some more muffled cries and curses. "What is going on?"

"I don't have the time to explain, either." Tsuna admits, "And all I can really tell you is that it's dangerous for you to be unprotected right now... and I-I need to make sure you're safe- no I need you to be safe. So please go make sure everything is locked and don't open the door for anyone- except maybe me, and even then only after I call and confirm that the person outside is me... Okay?"

"Okay."

There was some more muffled cursing and Tsuna hung up.

Haru, almost robotically, made her over to entrances of the house locking the doors, then going over to every room of the apartment making sure every single window was locked and closed. Once that was done, she took refuge in the kitchen.

Once there she pulled out a box of chocolate from one of the shelves and proceeded to stuff a handful in her mouth.

She then heated up a cup of milk and washed down the handful of chocolate only eat more chocolate in an attempt to calm herself.

It wasn't working and soon her thoughts turned to the situation at hand.

 _What is going on? Why won't Tsuna tell me anything? Why-_

"Haru open up!"

Jumping at both the loud pounding from the door and the sound of Tsuna's voice screaming to her, Haru made a move to the door only to abort all motion just before her hand touched the doorknob.

 _"...don't open the door for anyone but me and only after I call and confirm that the person outside is me."_

Haru stepped back from the door and slipped out her phone out from her pocket, then quickly scrolling through her contacts till she found Tsuna's name- she tapped on the call icon.

Ring one.

Ring twice.

Thr-

"Look I'm a little busy right now can yo-"

"Someone is outside. They sound like you and know I'm here. "

There was a brief moment of silence the Tsuna said: "Haru, go into the study."

"Ok?" Haru ignored the pounding on the door and walked to the study as quietly as possible, then shut the door behind her. "I'm in the study now what?"

There was a loud banging sound and Tsuna cursed softly before replying, "In the third drawer of the desk there's a small machine turn it on."

"Okay." Haru walked behind the desk, pulled out a small little box and clicked the on button. What happened next came to a shock. The floor underneath the desk sunk down, revealing a square shaped hole in the ground about seven feet deep.. "Tsuna, wha-"

"Go down the tunnel and press the button again, once you're a good three feet away from the desk, and keep walking down it until you come across a red colored ladder, climb up it, push open the hatch at the the top, then climb out. You should find yourself at Namimori's shopping district- stay there until I call you."

"Ok." Haru muttered after she hung up. "I can do this."

Breathing deeply, she hopped to the hole, landing on her feet, quickly scrabbled off the desk and walked about three feet away before clicking the button. The desk rose up and Haru belatedly realized it was on a moving platform as she watched hole close leaving her in a sparsely lit tunnel.

Turning to face to path before her, Haru took in her surroundings.

The roof and side walls were metal, but the floor was solid rock and every few feet there was a small dim yellow light attached to walls. With a deep breath she began to trek forward and would walk approximately one hour before reaching the red latter. Climbing up it, she pushed the panel at the top, which came up early and crawled out from the tunnel, then closed the opening behind her.

She was behind a building, it made sense popping up in the middle of the street would be asking for trouble, making her way out from behind the building, Haru took in the sight of Namimori's hoping district- as it turned out she had been behind the arcade. She was happy not to be alone, but she didn't like that she needed to do this kind of thing- sneak out of her living quarters via tunnel.

It was like no place was sacred- she would make a home only to have it destroyed.

This had to stop, Haru could not continue living like this.

 **...**

 **Feedback is appreciated.**

 **Also has anyone else noticed that as one of my stories gets fluffier and lighthearted the other tends too take a darker turn?**


	12. ISN'T AN UPDATE! IMPORTANT NOTICE!

NOTICE

So I haven't updated in a while. Almost a year now.

Now I sure you're all curious as to why?

And it is because I look at this and find myself frustrated.

I started this back in 2015. Over 2 years ago, and I've written more since. Other stuff actually, unpublished other stuff and a lot of it. And I absolutely hate this now. Not the idea, but my execution, because I feel like I've grown a lot.

I feel like I could have done so much better, but at the same time I don't have much time or motivation for both of my stories.

So I got a question for all of you.

 **Which one should I continue Decimo's Girl or Parallel?**

Because, I'm sorry to say, I am not going to continue both of them. (I am too busy with college, work and other 'personal' things)

And to be quite honest, I'd rather delete and forget both of them. I have so many other ideas, so many stories I want to write: like a really cool Nana focused story, some stuff from other fandoms. However just giving up on both seems unfair to you guys.

So instead only one is going to be abandoned. It'll be up for adoption if anyone wants it, (credit me or don't, I honestly don't care anymore) and the other heavily rewritten so it's going to be very different, but with the same basic premise.

 **Let me reiterate, neither story will be the same.**

 **Decimo's Girl** : will probably turn into a dabble, just fluff and stuff.

(I'll probably rewrite the beginning, take like 20 prompts from you guys for the universe, then finish it with a lose-end tying epilogue.)

 **For Parallel:** time travel mechanics will change and it be super slow burn and romance will take the back set to plot/Mafia stuff/power plays/character development.

 **Poll ends in a month. (For those with no account leave your vote in a review, I will count it.)**

 **H** **ighest voted will be finished up.**

-NT

PS: **Feel free to pm or leave a comment if you have any questions.** Such even unrelated one's like: what are some of the other stories i want to write. I will answer you, as soon as possible. (Seriously, I won't mind. I love to hear from you guys. Pms are preferable but I will answer reviews. **If you don't have an account, feel free leave your question in a review. I'll answer in a month when I post the results.)**


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